K Ganesh, faculty of English,
MCC (ganbuvar@yahoo.com):
Yes. Of late, the gap has been
growing. But, basically the Head of Department (HoD) is a coordinator. We
respect his age, experience and post, and generally don't tend to go against
hierarchy. The inter-personnel relatonships between the two must be cordial. The
gap will actually breed hatred and would paralyse the department activities. If
he may impose his ideas on others it may turn out to be counter-productive. Of
course, there is difference of opinion in which the differences should be
buried. Respect should be mutual. It is only when contemporaries become heads
that ego clashes actually develop and this is pertinent to all departments. In
government colleges, HoDs think they are gods and try to create a set of
followers endorsing any proposal brought forward by them.
Able Rajan, faculty of
Economics, MCC:
Yes. The gap is too big.
Actually, most HoDs behave like governors. The power given to them makes them
arrogant. And the HoDs want to run the show alone. The principals want to do
everything through the HoDs and actually never meet the teachers. Because of
this a lot of damage is done and it is too late when it is realised that damage
has been done. And it takes time to rectify as the HoDs find it uncomfortable to
discuss with the teachers, the ultimate subordinates. Most of the HoDs act very
authoritatively and like dictators, breaking all norms.
Sunisha, faculty, Dept of
Communication, MCC (sunishab@mailcity.com):
I think it's basically the type
of course that one is talking about. Courses such as visual communication and
mass communication, which have evolved lately, demand a good amount of
interaction among the staff and, therefore, the so-called gap is nullified, even
if it may be there. But, I find this gap prevalent in old courses such as
history.
Dr Susan, head, Dept.of
Communication, MCC (susan_sridhar@yahoo.com):
No. There is certainly no such
gap, especially in such courses. This is because we cannot afford such a
situation. Else how can we communicate? Since this type of a course is all about
specialisation, the chance of such a gap doesn't arise as everyone is given
equal importance.
Name and college withheld on
request (faculty)
Yes. It does exist. This is
profound in government-run universities and aided colleges. Since the government
wants to keep all the controls, the seniority and hierarchy are not respected
and promotions, especially of certain teachers as HoDs, are given according to
recommendations from various quarters, including the political side. Therefore,
undeserving people sit in important positions, inviting the non-cooperation of
other staff and thus helping in widening the gap. Also such people tend to
possess an 'I-am-the-boss' kind of attitude, thus creating a situation of an
unhealthy atmosphere within and outside the depatrment.
V Usha, teacher (school name
withheld on request):
It has been an issue in schools
for a long time. When compared to colleges, it is worse in schools. For, I find
it really disgusting when the HoD tries to impose her views on the entire
department. Not just me but the entire department is in a similar mood. There is
very little space for any sort of feedback. And we cannot raise our voice as our
career depends on the remarks made her by to the principal and the management.
S Krishnan, former faculty
(college name withheld on request):
Basically in all departments of
an office, there is a lot of ego clash and difference of opinion, and a college
or school is no different. It all lies in the human minds. Especially when we
take the case of a college, the major problem lies in ideologies. Most HoDs want
to be idealistic and in this process fail to take into account the views and
responses of others, especially subordinates. Its just a case of ego - 'Why
should I respect a subordinate's views?'. And in this process, the overall loss
is to the department and the college. Even in the college where I worked for a
few months before taking up a government job, the then HoD used to demand a lot
of respect from newcomers and juniors such as me. And this resulted in lack of
proper cooperation during certain times. And when there is an ego clash, it
resulted in hurling accusations at others for the debacle.
S Vasantha, former lecturer,
Holy Cross College, Trichy:
In our days, it was like a
guru-disciple relationship even between a teacher and the HoD since the age gap
and the field experience factors were high. There was no possibility of such a
gap though we used to differ on opinions but never let that rule the department
or ourselves. But presently I find a big gap between the two. This may probably
result out of the competition and 'cut-throatism' to become the head of the
department. Also, the sanctity of the job is seldom followed as anyone can
become anything today. Powered by money and political interventions, the field
is getting corrupted. Commitment is missing most of the time and this paves the
way for such unwanted gaps between people, especially in the field of education.
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